Nut-cracking machine



June 2, 1953 E. F. KENNEDY 2,640,519

NUT-CRACKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 6, 1950 38 FIG 2 3 INVENTOR EUGENE R KEN/v50) BY A /MLXM ATTORNEY .be employed: torcrack nutswhichzvazr f W1, iii

Patented June 2, 1953 v 2,640,519

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This invention: relates; to nut fiiifiQk g m %i EYl% @1%9% i chines, and more particularly to out es f 1 machines of: the powemclriven: typ

A main: olzajectv oft the invent-ion to nrov-ige a novel and improved, nut cracking module? which is very. simple: in, construc ion K13;

) p m gi size: and shape, anda which cracks; the. shells: thev nuts without the nut-1 meets;

A further object ofi'the inventio istomov es? of cracking: pressure on then-l te; to crank; the! n1 t shellsv withoutdamagingthe; nut; meets; the; chine being; arranged;torholgigthe nuts firmly?for I r application ofthe repeated short} ompression B ris 1.; Has e s eotawmv strokes, regardlessof variations in; the: size and mounted on said shaft etween the arm 150 shape of the nuts.

A still further object of: the. invention; is; to provide an improved nub. cracking machine which is rugged in construction, involves only; a: few parts. and which is inexpensive: to manufacture A still further object of: the: inventiOpi is; to provide an improved powen-clrivem nut; cracking machine wherein the operator may reaQi-ly. con? trol; the overall-cracking pressure; applied tmthe nuts and: wherein. the. cracking: force is akliplied to the nutsin short, successive pulseswhereby the nut shells are orackedi in manner enabling said: shells to be removed without damage to the nut meats.

Further objects and advantages ofithem-wen: tion will becomeapparentirom the following; de? scription and claimmend from the, aceompanvs Z i t ing drawingswhereim w n la g Figure 1 is a side: elevationalview of 2, 11; im-r. proved nut creaking v machine constnuctefi: ac: w cordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 isa' topplan View, partly in horizone tel orosssection, of the nut; eraeking machine of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal: vertical! cross: sectional view taken an line-373d figure-2':

Referrin to the drawings,- the. machine isclas ignated generally at M Said; machine comprises a. frame 12 having. a: box-dike. rear portion t3, provided with forwardly extending; transversely spaced longitudinal arms M; re. As shown.- in Figures 1 and 3, saizi: aLnms: 115- are: integrali with the side. walls 15;. I 5 of the boxelike: portion 1:3,, and the top edgesot: said arms are substantially in the same horizontal plane as the bottom 5111'? mm face of: the bottomwa llt6: of portion: 132. The mg lif forward ends; or the arms M; Hi are upwardly- @g ount so. the}; 1 V p1 f a and inwardly'offsetgesshown at i3, klgend each l 7 im- 5 5. lj

3 tively short distance outside the wall and is spaced from the anvil boss 26 by a distance suitable for receiving nuts therebetween.

In operation, a nut is held between the head 33 and the anvil boss 26 and the handle 25 is elevated to move the anvil toward the nut, so that the nut is gripped between the cup-like recesses 36, 21. The operator then releases the nut and further elevates the handle 25 slightly, whereby the pressure on the nut is increased. The plunger rod 32 meanwhile is reciprocating and applies repeated short pressure strokes to the nut. As the force applied to anvil 19 by cam 23 is gradually increased, the repeated-shortstroke impacts of the plunger rod 32 cause the nut to be cracked, without crushing the nut meat. When the nut shell is cracked, the operator retracts the anvil by rotating handle 25 downwardly, whereby flange 24 exerts retractile force on the hook portion 31, releasing the cracked nut and allowing the nut to fall between and through the arms 14, M of the frame into a suitable receptacle.

The box-like rear portion l3 of the frame may be fastened in any suitable manner'to the corner of a bench or table 38, allowing the remainder of the machine to overhang, as shown.

It will be noted that the nuts are cracked by the combined pressures provided by the cam 23 and the reciprocating plunger rod 32. Continuous hand pressure is applied by handle 25, which tightens the anvil boss 26 against the nut, allowing the cam to rotate a little on each back stroke of the plunger rod. The short forward stroke of the plunger rod thus occurs with the p nut tightly wedged between the recesses 36 and 21.

The machine above described is of particular value in shelling nuts such as pecans, black walnuts, and the like.

For example, in cracking the shells of black walnuts, which have a natural crack or seam dividing the shell in half, the concave recesses 36, 2'! hold the halves of the shell together. preventing the nut from splitting at said natural crack or seam, and instead, cause the shell to crack in many places, whereby the shell may be removed without injuring the nut meat.

The machine of the present invention reduces risk of injury to the operator to a minimum, due to the very short stroke of the cracking plunger 32, which may be of the order of one sixteenth of an inch. In the machines of the prior art, the cracking stroke is frequently at least one half inch long, which presents a substantial hazard to operators.

While a specific embodiment of a nut cracking machine has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A nut cracking machine comprising a frame, a shaft journalled in said frame, an eccentric carried by said shaft, a plunger journalled on said eccentric, means on the frame supporting said plunger for reciprocating and oscillating movement, an anvil, means on said frame supporting said anvil for sliding movement substantially in the axial direction of said plunger, the free end of the plunger extending toward said anvil, and a manually operated cam rotatably mounted in said frame for rotation in the plane of said plunger and around an axis normal to that of the anvil and engaging the anvil at its end opposite said plunger.

2. A nut cracking machine comprising a frame, a shaft journalled in said frame, an eccentric carried by said shaft, a plunger journalled on said eccentric, means on the frame supporting said plunger for reciprocating and oscillating movement, the end of the plunger being formed with a recess, an anvil facing said recess, said anvil being formed with a recess facing the recess in the plunger, means on said frame supporting said anvil for sliding movement substantially in axial alignment with said plunger, and an anvil-actuating cam rotatably mounted on said frame for rotation in the plane of said plunger and around an axis normal to that of the anvil and engaging said anvil at its end opposite said plunger.

3. A nut cracking machine comprising a frame including a pair of parallel, vertical, spaced arms defining a discharge passage therebetween for cracked nuts, a substantially horizontal reciprocating plunger mounted in said frame for reciprocation substantially parallel to, above, and in a vertical plane between the vertical planes of said arms, means to reciprocate said plunger, an anvil slidably mounted on said frame for movement substantially in the axial direction of said plunger, said anvil having a depending transverse flange slidably supported on the top edges of said arms to guide said anvil, a stem carried by said anvil and extending between said arms on the side of the anvil opposite said plunger, the free end of said plunger extending toward said anvil, and a cam journalled between said arms and engaging the end of said stem.

4. A nut cracking machine comprising a frame including a pair of parallel, vertical, spaced arms defining a discharge passage therebetween for cracked nuts, a substantially horizontal reciprocating plunger mounted in said frame for reciprocation substantially parallel to, above, and in a vertical plane between the vertical planes of said arms, means to reciprocate said plunger, an anvil slidably mounted on said frame for movement substantially in the axial direction of said plunger, a stem carried by said anvil and extending between the arms on the side of the anvil opposite said plunger, the free end of said plunger extending toward said anvil, a depending transverse flange on said anvil slidably engaging the top edges of said arms to guide said anvil, a cam journalled between said arms adjacent said stem, a flange on said cam, and a hook element on said stem engaging around said last-named flange.

5. A nut cracking machine comprising a frame including a pair of parallel, vertical, spaced arms defining a discharge passage therebetween for cracked nuts, a substantially horizontal reciprocating plunger mounted in said frame for reciprocation substantially parallel to, above, and in a vertical plane between the vertical planes of said arms, means to reciprocate said plunger, an anvil, respective longitudinally extending rod elements rigidly secured to said anvil and slidably engaged with said frame on opposite sides thereof, a depending transverse flange on said anvil slidably engaging the top edges of said arms and arranged to guide the anvil for movement substantially in the axial direction of said plunger, a stem carried by said anvil and extending between the arms on the side of the anvil opposite said. plunger, the free end of said plunger ex-.

5 tending toward the anvil, a cam journalled between said arms adjacent said stem and substantially in the vertical longitudinal plane of said plunger and anvil, a peripheral flange on said cam, and a hook element on said stem engaging around said last-named flange.

EUGENE P. KENNEDY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date White Oct. 3, 1911 Number Number Number Name Date Crawford Sept. 3, 1912 Coulson May 30, 1916 Schroeter Mar. 4, 1924 Abbott Jan. 5, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Jan. 22, 1929 France Dec. 23, 1929 

